Acharya Prashant responds to a question about the spiritual teaching, "Don't judge intentions behind other people's mistakes." He begins by questioning the premise itself, asking how one can first know that a mistake has occurred. He defines the only real mistake as acting in ignorance, a condition that applies to both oneself and others. Therefore, the most fundamental mistake is not knowing the very definition of a mistake. Judging, he explains, comes much later; the primary step is to know. He uses an analogy: before one can follow the instruction "do not judge somebody wearing crimson," one must first know what crimson is. The speaker argues that the phrase in question is built upon a series of unexamined assumptions: that you know what a mistake is, that you are certain the other person has made one, and that you are aware of your own mistakes. This entire way of thinking, he states, stems from an absence of self-knowledge, which leads one to treat assumptions as facts. He critiques the superficial magnanimity of withholding judgment, pointing out that the initial judgment—that a mistake has been made—has already been passed. Instead of simply avoiding judgment, Acharya Prashant advocates for inquiry. Using the questioner's example of a maid dropping a glass, he explains that it is entirely possible she did it on purpose due to feeling underpaid, or it could have been an accident. Rather than jumping to a conclusion, one should inquire to learn the facts of the situation. He asserts that quick judgments are for the "unthinking" and "mentally sluggish" because they save the effort of inquiry, which requires time, discipline, and honesty, whereas judgment takes no effort. He concludes that we are judgmental not only towards others but equally towards ourselves. The solution is not to form a positive or negative opinion but to inquire and learn. Whether it concerns oneself or another, the path is to investigate the facts rather than labeling someone as a "devil" or a "deity." All judgments, he emphasizes, are just lazy assumptions. The only real mistake is ignorance, and the only remedy is inquiry.